Auto Club Speedway retains position in 2014 IndyCar schedule

FONTANA >> Following months of speculation, the IndyCar Series 2014 schedule was released and the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway once again will serve as the season finale, although the date has been moved up to Saturday, Aug. 30.

The schedule has been compressed into five months of racing, starting with a St, Petersburg (Fla.) race on March 30. There will be 18 races, includng three doubleheaders, and the Fontana finale one of eight on a Saturday night.

IndyCar will race three times in California. The Long Beach Grand Prix is set for April 13 and the road course race at Sonoma has been shifted to Aug. 24, just six days before the Auto Club Speedway stop.

A new addition is the previously announced road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 10, seven days before qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Races in Brazil and Baltimore are absent from the new schedule. Fontana is one of six ovals on the schedule that also include five street circuits and four road courses.

“Our thought was to condense the North American schedule so that we didn’t pop up and go away as we did this year,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Company, the parent company of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Our hope for 2015 is that we can start the season earlier and run for seven months, but we’ve said all along that 2014 is a transition year.”

Miles was referring to a gap of a month this season between races in Baltimore and Houston.

Other changes include moving the Houston date from the college football season to June and Milwaukee running in August, one week after the Wisconsin State Fair.

Driver change

Scratch one team and one driver from the Silly Season forum.

In addition to picking up Sebastien Bourdais to drive the 2014 season as a replacement for Tony Kanaan, KV Racing also added a new team principal and will be known as KVSH Racing next season. James “Sulli” Sullivan will join Jimmy Vasser and Kevin Kalkhoven in running the team.

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Bourdais is a four-time Champ Car champion, and is on the list with Mario Andretti and Dario Franchitti with that many.

The 34-year-old Bourdias’ 31 IndyCar wins places him eighth on the all-time list and his 31 pole positions are seventh-best. He also has competed in Formula One and 10 24 Hours of LeMans races.

“The fact that I have an agreement with KVSH Racing so early, and that I have a two-year contract, shows the team’s commitment to their new era in the IndyCar Series,” Bourdias said before today’s practice and qualifying. “I am looking forward to meeting the crew and getting started with testing as soon as possible.”

KV Racing was searching for a driver when Kanaan signed with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I am very pleased and proud to say that we have Sebastien,” said Vasser. “I have raced against him and can say without a doubt that he is an exceptional driver and a true champion. We look forward to winning a lot of races with him.”

Simona De Silvestro also is on the KV Racing roster.

Open track

Sarah Fisher Racing driver Josef Newgarden, who can finish as high as 11th in the points race, is of the opinion the MAVTV 500 will be very competitive.

“I think Fontana is going to be a close race from everybody this year,” Newgarden said. “It’s a really unique track because you can use all four driving lanes, and the tires will provide closer racing. You have to figure out which lanes work the best at certain times, which is the challenge.

““It’s going to be fun to finish on an oval. Fontana is particularly tricky, so that will be exciting after coming off of a few street circuits. If anything, it should bring a lot of excitement for the finale.”

Also ...

James Fortney, from Schnecksville, Penn., will be in the IndyCar two-seater driven by Mario Andretti that will pace the field on Saturday. Fortney gained the opportunity by winning Honda’s Fastest Seat in Sports sweepstakes. ... Kyle O’Gara, the 18-year-old Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing development driver, will compete in the Indy Lights race for the second time this season. He’s racing thanks to a partnership between SFH Raacing and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.